REVIEW.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 217, 11 September 1907, Page 6

REVIEW.

• *Ked'ay: A Story of Oxford," by H. N. anthbr "of '"Things That Are - Caesar'e." London; Helnmann. r. (By E. H. BAKJfiVVJibL, M.D.); . I interrupt the articles on' medical trades unions, whiehrwill keep for a week and, perhaps, , improve by keeping, to re- ...- view the book placed, at the head of this article—a book wlfccn has so. recently been published in London that notices, 6£"it' appear in the periodicals: published as late, as the middle of July. ' . . My attention was , called to the book by a review in a Home periodical, which spoke of "it in terms of cordial praise; I am satisfied that that reviewer had 'not read a dozen pages of the book. However, he spoke of "it as a book that contained a -vivid picture of Oxford life at the present day. It ■ is dedicated "to. -Cyril PearaHV-LBalliol— •1904." I take it that that may be considered as the period which- the writer depicts in his noyel. The book unquestionably possesses one of the most essential qualities of a novelrr-jt is intensely interesting. The. .latter part is so exciting that one can hardly f -. read it fast, enough. gether "shows remarkable ability in describing and in painting-character. Each oneTof the characters stands out in bold relief, and lives with the reader after he has - finished the story. ' There is no doubt that the writer will fdo better as he grows older. . He is so very young! Erom the comparison of dates, he would seem not to "be more than twenty-three no,w, and, as his boyhood was evidently prolonged during the whole of his residence at Oxford, he cannot J. be said to have, become anything of a-man until he left there. Whether he took his de- ' gree or not it is impossible: to gather from the book. The hero of: the story —the real, though not the nominal hero— does not. take his ;degree,, :f or reasons which wil be apparent . That the book is written by . a boy about boys, "who most amusingly style, :themselves; men,, is the only excuse for the production and publication of such a libel upon Oxford. When Mr. Rudyard Kipling published that disgusting account of his schooldays which he entitled "Stalky and Co.j" he had no such excuse. To those who'have had the misfortune to read "Stalky and;.Co.",it .■will suffice to. say that the general mode of life and .occasional adventures of Stalkyand Co. transferred to. Oxford are the theme of 'Tleddy," ;. '-■• The -writer' hints at the existence of .. other , "forces/ , as he ■ calls'' them, than ■ -those which he almostly exclusively describes. There is an earnest and. "pious High. Church: clergyman, there are some Christian Ehdeavonrers,l_there_are--some men who are actually decently moral, without being ridiculous or offensive,: or otherwise' objectionable. But,/ still, the picture that--fills your eye,'the* life "'that is narrated, is that of a vulgar, profane, silly crowd of idle, worthless, young men Twho spend" their time ■ in breaking all college and university rules, in drinking ■whisky at all hours of the day and night, in smoking incessant cigarettes; * and irt running after women of improper character. Of reading, of any kind of study, lor which a university is supposed to "' exist, of: any; gerious; view of life, ■ of any aspirations after anything better, nobler, higher than : women, whisky, and cigar-" ' etteSj. there'isno mention whatever. The boys described are not even athletes. I have-read; X: believe, almost every sentence "in the'volume, and cannot recall ■one single,mention of any time given to.iestdirig (except novels); or attending a' tutor, or attending chapeL Perhaps chapels are not" required nowadays. '■' Now, in the course of my life I have become acquainted with not a few, Ox"ford men. Some people do not like them as a class; I do. If you will only take an Oxford man'with his own limitations, ' you -will find-him a most agreeable member of society. You must: grant;his -.major and minor, principles—-major; all -"'Oxford men are superior to all the rest of. humanity; "minor,- he is ; an Oxford ■'man. These granted,: he never thrusts -conclusion upon you. ftp .= ;Oxford graduate, is not arrogant; -,:he -does-not assert his superiority; still less does he boast of it,-but at is the essentia >coadi±ipii of-Bis being; he : seeiret'es it ihe exudes it; it permeates all he does, "■or says,. or . Very "well, granted ' '..rthese principles, you will find, that, exVcept on the subject of classical (iie:, .Greek and Latin) literature, your Oxford graduate is a man of widely liberal :'spirit. Of course, as regards the classics, at is useless for you to express any ■opinion, however much."your opinion may -"be supported : " by.'German scholars. If/it is a point on "which Oxford has come'to definite decision, or pronounced hone, 4t is not worth talking about. ~;If "your opinion coincides with the Oxford tradition, it is. waste , .of time.:for 'you to state it.- If you differ'from the Oxford tradition, the question is not -you are nvrong;' -But : take jjip ~;&ny question. _pplitics, sociology, .?re"rJlgionp. or ;natural science; ; and; you "Soil -gind your, Oxford man broad and'liberal in his ideas,;amL.ready >to give and take in controversy just like any mere common -ttnan. And all this withput any appear- ■ «nee of-condescension: He is; too miich .superior . to be;; condescending. SmaU .potentates, like Prince Henry XXXTTLvof "jßeuss (junior branch), wlaose territory, six miles; -by'four, may --be in- their -manner'to' those are not of royal-birth; but you never hear of King Edward the Seventh, or the Snperor of Austria;-oij: the Czar of Bussia showing condescension. They are simply natural. "*So "is ah 'Oxford man: I Nowjctheiauthor. of 'IKeddy 5 - , : fills his pagesi with -ja ,descriptioii"of:-the_ r sayings ■and d6ings ;! of "a set "of creatures- who "could never by any process of cramming -or development navebecome the kind "of Oxford men I have met. To begin with, ihey talk like "bargees, • and like bargees ihat are half drunk. ..The way. they 'swear;' is something •that" I.Thave" oisly heard among the very lowest, classes; ■And they all swear except the two one of whom goes by the name of "Porker" Colquhoun. The , specimen ■ of 'the- conversation of these young-men.: -A number-of—them have broken out of college by getting" out of windows and climbing over .walls, and are on their way to visit. some ladies.at two in the morning , . Keddy.says: "Bobby, I say, who is this woman we are going, to see? .... Is she someone you go to see in London?" i i It- was a\ rough shot, but Wilson answered in the calmest way, "N6; ; damn'- you! - It's the Oakes {rirL itshe came dpwii'this afternoon with a pal. 'I eoiud not find any place to put them in i' '.except this , hole" .in- Angel Square. .All ithe decent streets are/full." . ■■'..'■ "Angel Square iis. beastly," and so on." ' This" word "beastly, , * wiich is certain-' t iv not ft nice word, is used I should 'jUuak atrieiat-a inndred times in the

volume. - As for- the- "damns/? always printed in._full, .they are innumerable. ■ In getting back to College (at 3 a-m.) >they/encounter .very 'mauy" difficulties, owing to the- fact "that Bobby-Wilton, the : real hero of i the is, partly 'swing to a fall, and partly to drink, quite in : capable' of moving. The history of this journey, and of their final, deliverance by. tie aid of one jof the pious, men,, and a Christian Endeaysiurer, is most 1 ainus.jng. just as; they get to their :eollege.~wall, they.see Porker Golquhoun, the college chaplain, on the look but. To .get rid of: him. they. have. to. enlist the services of Arthur .Pollock; the. :goo3 young man of.: the '■; story. -Keddy asks him how he got Porker away... ; :.

' "Oh! it doesn't matter how I did it,". Pollock told him. ■ "I discovered ithe proper lie to tell:-" "It was awfully good of you to. do; it, ; - To, that there was no answers .

Keddy, who giyes his name to.the iiovel. is the eldest :son>of: a schoolmaster, who a preparatory school. -jKe'Sdy does not go to any public school, because he is supposed to be suffering from disease of the heart; Twhicluis cured: by 'total-ab-stinence from schooP work. -It is to-be hoped that- this very 7 peculiar disease of the heart (of which I-have never seen a ease) will riot become as common as appendicitis, or the large : public schools will have to close their doors. - -

Keddy is brought up -by a good;" pious mother, who writes him : & most touching letter when-he goes up to the university; entreating him to beware of temptation, especially.: to sins against purity. The concluding sentences of her letter to him are:."But oh, v take , :the golden rule to Oxford with you. , Kemember vr that 'evil communications corrupt good manners,' and keep yourself from the thing that is evil. Of all the good things that God has given to my boy there is nothing bo precious as his purity.'">V v ... ... And yet, .within a minute J t>f going into residence, he not only gets into Zhs fast and rowdy clique that--exists in every College, but he makes a particular friend of one,-Bobby-Wilton, the real hero of the story, as I have before said, who has made himself .unpopular, not because he is vicious, but because he does such outrageously caddish things that even the rowdy set cannot ■tolerate him!; The first thing mentioned about him is that a■■ graduate of. the university, who had inherited a fortune made- by the manufacture of glue, and came up from London to rea'i a paper at a meeting of the literary society of his old ; college,''hangs up his- coat -and hat in. the "anterroom, and at the end of the meeting finds the coat firmly-glued to the wall! ;Of course he is in a furious' rage-at the outrageous insult. The whole of the "undergraduates participate' in his - feeling, with one exception'—Bobby Wilton has iommitted the offence. .. v: •

Now,- Bobby Wilton is represented-as a very handsome man, with 'perfect manners, who is the heir to an old Jacobean baronetcy, which is held at the present by ;his grandfather, a very , venerable old man. Bobby has been brought up by 'a pious mother, whose only fault has been that of spoiling him, and who writes to ,him in the most affectionate and touch* ing terms, when she hears some rumouW of his having become "wild." ■ ,- , ■

In one of their nocturnal orgies this sweet youth-catches hold of" a cat, arid, seeing the window of the Chaplain's (Porker's) study open, with great dexterity throws the cat in. This' is evidently considered most humorous, and is repeatedly mentioned by Keddy as an excellent joke! ' .When' brie reads this sort of thing one. begins to. understand how that dreary embodiment of English dullness, "Punch," . has; its popularity formore than sixty years. For the joke of coat of a guest to'the Wall,. a,'. detached band of about a dozen men' wreck: Bobby Wilton's" room. Keddy goes to see Bobby directly afterwards, and this is what he sees. _ .'.. "The whole room was in wild "disorder;... they had wrecked it; chairs -were, lying brokeri, tables overturned, trampled cushions thrown ; about, pictures swept off shelves ;and mantelpiece, 'flowers, ornaments, lumps of coal upon the floor, 7 and water feoaking every where. The windows were broken." Books were pull-. Ed from the shelves. It was a scene of destruction. Had it also been a scene of battle!" ; , " .. --'-•; ■ -.; - I have quoted this because, it is an excellent specimen of the author's power of vivid description. There 'is not a superfluous -word in it, biitTvhat a- picture it presents! One can see the room. "Slowly, in bewilderment;'Keddy turn--.ed his eyes ..towards., the., fireplace,.'and. Wilton,' who stood there, let ! drop" a poker from his-hand.' He was in his shirt sleeves, torn, dishevelled, dirty, soaking wet,: and Keddy knew that there iad been a battle.": ■ . s°w : intelligent, of Keddy! -What a poweT-of reasoning:is shown by iis.lcon" elusion froni the appearance- of "\yilton and, the room! ' - himtp. take some whisky, and of course Keddy does—a boy- of. eighteen—and throughout the book you find.Keddy and his "pals".,drinking whisky at aiLhours of the: day and night. ' The plot, if it- can be called a plot, is of the simplest description. It all; 'turns "on "a meeting at Wythain between Bobby and.the"girl Gertrude;Oakes, who was his mistress. He "was I'o take a cottage at.Wytham for .Gerirude arid her father,,an:old gentleman addicted/to" absinthe, who carAe- down to" chaperon her. On the she had fixed to : come down from London and look at the cottage, which, of course, she ..arid her father.were to take, Wilton gets a.letter from his mother stating that she is coming down for a.flying visit! Whereupon Bohby coolly transfers Miss Gertrude to the care of his friend Keddy, and- asks him to drive her'down to Wytham, and -wait with her there until his motherJjas left Oxford by"the 4.30 p.m! train."Keddy ■whose character is admirably summed up -by. Bob.by-Wilton—"Silly -ass! but 1 you always wtra an ass, now, weren't you?" agrees" to do so. He goes down with the girl, and they find Porker Colquhoun (the College chaplain)', who has surreptitiously read a telegram !he found in .a coat of Wilton's, and thereby learnb that Gertrude was "coming down to Wytham on: this Wednesday, waiting for theiri, orithe watch to catch Wilton ;and Gertrude together. Qi course; this is' exactly what one would expect a clergyman and an Oxford graduate to to. A coat belonging: to another man whoni; he- cor-, dially dislikes, is left by accident-at his T rooms, and he naturally seizes-the opportunity of going through' the pockets, and reading a telegrarir he finds there. Keddy and, the girl go to thY cottage she intends to take, which is let for ■lodgings, arid get tea tEere. To them, comes, after a time, Gertrude's lover, Bobby Wilton; who is altogether a.per: Jeet. dream of mischief. .-"While he is with them•:. in marches Porker, who exnltingly proclaims that he has caught ;them. Wilton- is: quite, equal to "the occasion, and replies, /'Really,. Mr. Colqiihoun," said Wilton, very, coolly, you are making, a' mistake. .. This ~lady is Miss Oakes, to whom It am engaged to be -mar: ried." •'. . .;■ -. "If you wish' to see Mis 3

Oakes , father you -yriQ. find him with Delville in the road .to Gddaton. 1, -

"Really,.Gertrude, I mustapologise for Mr. Colquhoun," said Wilton to the girl. "I am sure no one'will regret this more than hey when he thinks it over." Colquhoun, of course, is staggered, arid all he can say is, "I congratulate you." Then-■the girl, -who had not the. remotest idfea of such a. declaration, "look-, ed up to a 3Vilfon, raised one small and trustful hand to his, and whispered, : . : do?: you do!" He bentand . . . .-' >.-.'. "OlVhy, of course. I do—if: you—of course I always meant it from the first moment I saw-you." ■•..--.. ;-.,■-,■•■■ ' Now this villain ; nofc only did not mean■ it'j but-was intending to; send, the next day, a letter • off all connection with the girrvin the most brutal terras. A couple, of iays- before tliis scene cat Wytham "he Had spoken of her' to Keddy in this >yay: : - ; -; . ."It.(the 'telegram)' was from that bakes woman," aaid-Keddy. 'TDanin her," said Wilton, and he repeats the phrase;:. ' When-Keddy -asks him whether sh£, is:,'goir» down to Somerset; -.Wilton's: grandfather's place, he repliesj "No, she isn't. ' No more than Arthur qrCurlyi ofc Porker,:or any otlier devil in Oxford.": V:I must apologise' for quoting one more instance of Wilton's vulgarity and brutality. ' In- what is called the ''eights week," ; Wilton is "in a punt; on-the Tiver, arid gets in the way of his college boat which is coming up to the college, barge which is full of lady visitors- and; tneiir undergraduate.iriends. He so mismanages -the= punt: as. to come into collision with the boat arid damage her bow.' "Lord! h£'s ' smashed : the boat," said the man ■ in ithe bows. : And somebodj' from 'the eight added the lamentable "reproach: "Oh, it's, Wilton! It's Wilton,, of course/;, . . / The .dark.flush, the blazing eyesj the anger .flashing like steel," KeddyUcriew it,all! "Smashed the boat, haye-J?" .I'm: very glad I haye. Why don't you look out" for your "blastecl; boat yourselves, you stinking; bargees I, Why don't you make : your; — cox keep, straight! " > I think I-need quote no mbre; to prove that according -to this • autKor■-"'modern'' OxfordT'iindergraduates talk like bargees. The curious "thing is; .that amongst., a crbwd'of ; undergraduates not one had the pluck to jump into arid pitch the: brute" intol-the river. ■■ ' . . ; ' The story ends with a trial for breach of pfomise : of marriage, in which ■Wilton is defendant and. the girl Gertrude, the plaintiff. /. She gives her own evidence, and Porker :giye3 hi 3, and then Wilton adds to all 'the injuries he has done the girl, the atrocious villainy" of "denying that he has; made any such:proriiise. "And worsie' than this, lie expects: his bospm friend .Keddy to perjure; himself also/to support him.:; The description of. .'the way he gives" his evidence T have not room to quote.- It is one of the finest scenes I ever read in.fiction.'"•■; ■■: ■ ' • But the pathos of the; .conclusion surpasses . anything. ■ Wilton, who knows that he has utterly failed to convince either judge-or jury,", arid that to call Keddy would .dor.him"more..harm than good,; sends Eeddy ofl ,on;a. fruitless er.rand with distinct orderslnot-to return without an answer. - ::Whue Keddy. is away, the case is concluded, with; a verdict of £3000 damages.': "Wien.Eeddy, itfter some weeks, finds qutvthe'-trick that has been playeH.;on-:him, he'is so enraptured with admiration at the rnagnaninuty of Bobby Wfltpnihat he nishes to see him, and his feelings can only

be' described in his own picturesque and ! forcible language:. ' '.-■'■ ; ■ - :• "What.the 4evil do you mean by buying secrets■; froni .my legal - advisers?" Bobby asked, fwith a suspicious; ■ vehemence -of indigriation. Keddy kicked the carpet.:-* : ' ' ;:'•;■ "Look- Tiere, Bobby "he began. '. "No! , Damn your impudence! 'I won't stand it." (This is the ordinary.style of conversation among thesegilded youths.) ~ 1 "Look here,' if you won't let what: I want "to say, 'I'll go straight back to. Oxford' and iwrite you a letter!" ' "And what is it?" said Bobby.■". -\ .-. "OhjWhatdo you, thinkit is? Oh.: Lord, what- do you expect a man to do to you? You go; a"bout: a.ll over, tlie place kicldng up a —q'fa row to make every one. believe you're the biggest blackguard ever bom; and fhen all of a sudden" you turn round- and: dor-danui it finest "thing: I- ever—Oh; what the devil do you mean by iE ?"..''. : ■ Bobby slowly "poured out whisky into the glasses: •: -.- ■ .. ■." '_;■• - . ■ ' . ■: . The etjiic standards of the story may be fairly judged by this extract. That a man- who had committed the atrocious— the almost^unprecedented—crime ot committing deliberate perjury 'in order to ruin the character of a woman whom he had professed to love—Tfchat this atrocious, villain, this unspeakable and contemptible scoundrel, should, become the object of Keddy's impassioned admiration', is a fair measure 'of. thegutter want of the moral sense that, pervades, the characters. They arc simply and very badly trained and " vicious animals. •■■■.- -, .- . : . <■ ~ -~ - Onehunga, September 7thj 1907.

'.Over two years ago a North; Canterbury resident, discovered a process' of rendering bicycle and motor: car. tyres puncture proof by means of a simple composition... He sent. some of the .composition to England; where ; it was tested over a lengthened period, with results . considered to be extraordinarily successful.' A pair: bf bicycle tyres were, used.'.for. some months under the severest • conditions that could ■be: devised'shojrt of severing them .with-a knife, and they remained perfectly inflated. final test Was ' riding, the machine along a ' 12ft rboafd '.thickly studded with wire nails with the points, projecting, and yet: the tyres remained: firm. Each of the tubes was found to contain, about nine hundred punctures. The same ..tubes were again placed in the tyres, and;on -being inflated were ' found to hold, the air perfectly. The ■ composition riot ;only "renders the tyre absolutely puncture proof, > but also preserves the rubber, the discoverer ■claiming that a;set of tubes will last as long as,the machine. The manufacture of .the composition will shortly be commenced in North Canterbury. . A married man with fiVe. children,. all of whom are attending school, was debtorin'-; a judgment summons case at the Dunedin Magistrate's Court on Thursday, arid gave his version of how he lfved on ,£ 2 per-- week; The, grocer -absorbed 11/ jger .week, the butcher 10/, the baker 7/6 to 8/, the" milkman 1/3, the landlord 7/, and ', a workman's;railway ticket 2/. The solicitor .for the plaintiff added up .this little. sum.'.'(says . a Dunedin paper) , and f somewhat, hastily resumed his : seat, .withput. attempting to .1 elicit: any information as to how much was expended on boots and clothing. .There was the handsome eurplus .of 9d. ' . • .